A certain number of operations are necessary before the actual launching of a missile to insure a fulfillment of its mission, i.e. to let the missile reach the target to which it is directed or at least approach it sufficiently to enable its destruction to take place under optimum conditions.
The operations of bringing the missile from its launch point to the target are subdivided into those relating to guidance and those relating to the actual control.
By definition the guidance function calculates the lateral accelerations which have to be performed by the missile, whereas the control function relates to the carrying out of these instructions by the missile. We shall particularly refer hereinafter to guidance instructions relating to controlled lateral accelerations and to control instructions relating to the positioning of the actuators aboard the missile.
Within the scope of the present invention the term actuator is understood to mean any missile-borne mechanical device controllable to vary the forces exerted on the missile, thereby affecting its course. The actuators can, for example, be aerodynamic control surfaces acting with amplification by being placed at the front or rear of the missile, or acting without aerodynamic amplification if they are placed in the vicinity of the center of gravity. They also could be jets of gas perpendicular to the missile axis which, when positioned either at the front or at the rear, may also act with amplification in jet-propulsion or jet-deflection systems.
Our invention is particularly applicable to a control system in which the lateral acceleration imparted to the center of gravity of the missile has a completely or partly aerodynamic origin, i.e. results from the action of the relative velocity of the surrounding air. These accelerations are controlled by the aforementioned actuators.